Think of Pennsylvania Dutch food, and shoo-fly pie, chicken corn soup and snickerdoodle cookies come to mind. You can sample these foods and many others at the second annual Pennsylvania Dutch Food Festival June 13-18. Held throughout Lancaster County, the festival features food events, demonstrations and tastings, a food fair, a chicken corn soup cook-off and tours of food processing plants.
One of the big festival events is the Route 340 Food Fair June 17 and 18 in the rural village of Bird-in-Hand. Under one big tent, you can taste food and watch demonstrations by some of the county's best-known Pennsylvania Dutch restaurants, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be hourly carriage rides, prizes, and tethered balloon rides. One of the county's large ice cream manufacturers will be there to offer its newest flavor of the month, "Death By Chocolate," along with seven other popular flavors. Admission is free.
The Pennfield Farms Chicken Corn Soup Cook-Off on June 17 will determine who makes the best chicken corn soup in Lancaster County. Local, nonprofessional cooks will prepare their family recipes before a panel of celebrity judges at 2 p.m. at Doneckers Expo Center, Artworks Complex, 100 N. State St. in Ephrata. Samples of other traditional Pennsylvania Dutch foods will be offered by local food processors. The event is open to the public free of charge.
The Farmers Market at Doneckers will hold a Pennsylvania Dutch Food Fest on June 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be demonstrations, seminars, free tastings and children's workshops. Admission is free. Another event that day is a tour of gardens in Marietta from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also in Marietta that day are free bread-baking demonstrations at Vogt Farm Bed & Breakfast from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Seating is limited. (800) 854-0399.
For a brochure, call (800) PA-DUTCH, Ext. 2425.
Granting the charter
Charter Days on Saturday and next Sunday celebrate the granting of the Maryland Charter, with a re-creation called "Publick Times" from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at historic St. Mary's City, the state's outdoor living-history museum at the site of Maryland's first capital.
St. Maries Citty Militia, the state's official 17th-century color guard, will hold its annual muster at the old capital. The men, women and children who make up the unit will also engage in hearth cooking, crafts and period games. Visiting children can join in the drill with muskets and pikes. Living-history trials, based on court cases of the period, will be presented at the Old State House, and an old-fashioned surgeon will display medical instruments. One of the weekend highlights will be a free open-air concert by St. Maries Musica at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Margaret Brent Gazebo overlooking the St. Mary's River.
An outdoor food court and an arts and crafts market will be set up around the Visitor Center, where an exhibit on "Project Lead Coffins" is on display. Each day at 3 p.m. there will be a presentation on the archaeological findings at St. Mary's City. At Farthing's Ordinary, a printer will produce copies of the Maryland Charter on an old printing press.
Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for seniors; $2 for children ages 6 to 12. St. Mary's City is on Route 5 in Southern Maryland. Call (301) 862-0990 or (800) SMC-1634.
Festival on the waterfront
The annual Alexandria Red Cross Waterfront Festival will take place next weekend at Oronoco Bay Park in Alexandria, Va. Now in its 13th year, the festival has become one of the region's top tourist attractions and Alexandria's single largest public event, with crowds of more than 110,000.
During the three-day festival weekend, the port fills with visiting ships and small craft. Ship tours, canoe rentals and nautical exhibits are among the water-related events. In the park, crafts people will sell their wares. There are games, rides, puppet shows, clowns and jugglers for children's amusement and live musical entertainment for adults. The Red Cross will offer safety demonstrations, health checks and information throughout the festival.
Hours are 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults; $1 for ages 6 to 12; free for under 6. Adults arriving after 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights pay $7. Headline entertainment and fireworks displays are scheduled on those evenings. Call (703) 838-4200.
Antique Car Show
Model T cars, Thunderbirds, Studebakers, Edsels and other classic automobiles will be displayed on the lawn at Historic Sully Plantation in Chantilly, Va., next Sunday during the 21st annual Antique Car Show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More than 350 classic cars will be exhibited. Old cars will be for sale, and a flea market will sell everything from antiques to classic-car parts. Entertainment will be provided by the Fairfax County Symphony's Brass Quintet and a big band group, "Hot Jazz."
Admission of $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for children includes a tour of the mansion that was once owned by Northern Virginia's first congressman, Richard Bland Lee.
Sully is on Route 28 (Sully Road) three-quarters of mile north of the junction of U.S. 50 and Route 28 and four miles south of the Dulles Toll Road. Call (703) 437-1794.
Cumberland Heritage Days
Sponsored by the Allegany Arts Council, Cumberland's Heritage Days Festival will be held Saturday and next Sunday on the streets and sidewalks of downtown Cumberland, in the Washington Street Historic District and on the newly renovated Station Square Plaza.
Sidewalks will be packed with arts and crafts booths, food vendors, strolling jugglers, magicians and storytellers. There will musical entertainment, an antique car and truck show and children's activities. The Maryland Signal Detachment, CSA, one the largest Civil War signal detachments in the United States, will set up camp at Station Square Plaza and present demonstrations throughout the festival area. There are also carnival rides in the downtown area, boat rides on the Potomac River and train excursions on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call (301) 777-2787.
Old-time music
Lovers of old-time and bluegrass music should head for the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster next Sunday. The Deer Creek Fiddler's Convention offers a full day of music from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Participants will be tuning up fiddles, banjos, mandolins, guitars and other instruments as they prepare to compete for cash prizes. Festivities open with the Sacred Harp Singers. During music breaks, cloggers will take over the stage. You can also tour the farm museum or take a wagon ride around the grounds.
Admission is $7 for adults; free for under 18 with a paying adult. Call (410) 876-2667.
Arts and crafts
The 23rd annual Spring Mountain Heritage Arts and Crafts Festival will be held next weekend from Friday to Sunday on grounds just off U.S. 340 between Harpers Ferry and Charles Town, W.Va.
About 200 juried crafts people will demonstrate and sell their wares. Friday's entertainment will be provided by Colin Dunbar & Sleepy Creek along with the Round House 8 Square Dancers. Musicians such as Patent Pending and the First Generation will perform on Saturday and Sunday. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Admission is $4 for adults; $2 for ages 6 to 15. Call (800) 624-0577.